What MLS Academies Really Look For. Jose Campos of Orlando City

What do MLS academies actually look for in a player?In this episode of Chasing the Game: Youth Soccer in America, Liron Unreich and Matt Tartaglia sit down with Jose Campos, Academy Director at Orlando City, for one of the clearest conversations we’ve had yet about how serious academies really think.Jose explains how Orlando City defines player profile, what “fit” actually means inside a pro academy, why growth mindset and coachability matter so much, and how scouts separate current performance from long-term potential. He also gets into what parents misunderstand about trials, why college is not failure, and how players should think about challenge, development, and timing.This episode is for soccer parents, coaches, and serious players trying to better understand MLS academies, the youth development process, and what decision-makers are really evaluating behind the scenes.(00:00) - Start (00:03) - Cold Open. What MLS Academies Actually Want (01:01) - Jose Campos’s Journey to Orlando City (05:04) - What Different Soccer Cultures Teach You (11:36) - Building Orlando’s Player Profile and Culture (20:08) - Performance vs Potential. Early and Late Developers (24:59) - How Orlando Recruits and Builds Its Roster (30:01) - What Live Scouting Reveals That Video Misses (34:03) - America’s Diversity, Styles, and Player Profiles (39:03) - Trial Advice for Players and Parents (43:02) - Always Chase the Next Level (46:01) - The U.S. System, Pay-to-Play, and the Business Reality (56:03) - What Players Still Need Beyond Training (01:00:00) - Host Takeaways and Final Reflections Click here to view the episode transcript.